Chapter 7

"All I'm hearing is offensive and sexist judgement." Renaes arms were crossed and annoyance was steaming from her eyes. She glared out the window trying to calm her short temper.

"Sorry- I was told... never mind. If you can keep down food I'll gladly send you home as soon as tomorrow. Sometimes with head injuries it can bother your stomach." His voice rang small before Renae looked back at him.

"Now that you mention it, I think I am kind of hungry." She uncrossed her arms forgetting about her anger. "So, when can I get back to my normal everyday activities, or even maybe something like extreme exercise?" She bit her lip.

He paused looking at her "Just take it slow. You should be able to slowly get yourself back to where you were starting in a few days after you go back to school. I'll have a nurse come and bring you some food to see if you can keep any of it down. Alright?" He smirked towards her before turning to walk to the door.

"Thank you." She bit her tongue after the words left her mouth.

"Oh, it's just been bothering me a little but, have we met somewhere before? Since you first came in I've been having this nagging feeling that I've met you somewhere before." He asked turning towards her.

"Honestly?..." She looked at him, feeling her own memories fail her "I think maybe? I'm not really sure. Maybe we both met each others dopple-gangers before. I've never been on this part of the country before about a month ago."

"It's probably just nothing then. Forget I mentioned it." He walked out the door and closed it behind him. 'I swear, I know her some somewhere... This ones different, that's for sure.' He thought to himself before walking away.

---

Three days later Renae is still in the hospital. She was unable to keep anything down including water. She had to keep her I.V. and has been put on fluids till she can manage to eat anything. Spending most of the time alone, Renae kept thinking back to the fight and how she managed to be too full of herself and how it caught up to her. With her excitement to start campus security fizzled out, she was slightly grateful to get knocked down a few pegs before she was stuck in a more serious fight at night when she'd hardly be able to see. Yet she still couldn't let the disappointment in her thoughts drop due to the fact that she got taken down by a boy who only had one working arm.

"What's wrong?" Jarrod asked seeing her conflict.

She paused taking in the silence of the room before speaking "I'm just mad at myself. I could've done better. I got to cocky." She sighed.

"Hey, you took on all four of them and had little to no trouble. If it wasn't for me coming around the corner and distracting you. Also, it was the rock that took you out. I never would have been able to do what you did at your age. I wish I never would have yelled when I came around that corner." He grabbed her hand and tried to hide his swelling tears.

"Distractions are not an excuse. I don't know how many times you told me that during training. I got cocky and careless; this is my own fault. Besides, I turned my back on them when I knew better. I thought I'd taken them all out long enough to be able to go get you and explain but I was obviously wrong. It was a good thing you showed up when you did. I would have killed him if I had seen he what he was getting ready to do. They really pissed me off ganging up on me like that. Four against one? That's just dishonorable." She squeezed his hand trying to cheer him up.

"I can't help but feel like it really is my fault. It's a fact that you were looking at me when he got up and swung that bat at you. You were fine until I came back there yelling and hollering. Seeing you go down like that, I... I couldn't move fast enough, I couldn't do anything." The corners of his mouth dropped even more along with his head.

Listening only to the silence in the room and the occasional voice on the intercom outside in the hall, Renae was unable to think of anything more to say. Anything she did think of she figured he would have debunked as his own fault. Outside of the heart monitor the wind blowing outside was the only sound that made her thoughts go just as silent.

"It wasn't your fault. I know it wasn't. You would say the same thing if the roles were reversed. Anything I say, I know you're going to say it was your fault regardless but there's no one to blame but myself and Danny. If I hadn't broken his arm in the first place, he wouldn't have come after me. If I had just remembered to lock the door after I left that morning, they wouldn't have caught me and for sure none of this would have happened at all. If you want to put the blame on someone, put it on him. Now, before you start arguing, I'm really tired. I'd like to try and get some sleep." She nudged him off her bed and rolled onto her side pulling the covers up to her shoulders.

"Alright..." He said standing up "I should go home and take a shower and get some real food." He gagged looking at the food left from his own lunch left on the table.

"Maybe get some shut eye yourself? You're obviously not getting good quality sleep here, it's freezing and you don't even have an actual bed. I mean look at that thing, how can anybody call that a couch?" She propped her head up on her elbow and motioned to the love seat in the corner. "I'll try eating again in a bit. I'll call and let you know how it goes."

"Do you promise?" He extended his pinky towards her.

"I promise." She smiled hooking her own pinky around his.

After a few stares back and forth and patting his pockets, he left. Renae called the nurse and explained she wanted to try and eat later on. After the nurse left she turned on the TV and watched random cartoons until she fell asleep.

-

"Renae?" His voice woke her up. "It's time to wake up." She felt a light shake on her arm. She looked up to see Dr. Jones standing there with a bowl of soup on the table next to her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think I was that tired." She yawned sitting up. She glanced out the window and saw it was already dark.

"It's alright. Not being able to eat can really take it out of you. The nurse said you wanted to try eating again, and I just wanted to check in with you myself so I brought in some broth for you to try and sip. I also got some crackers just in case. If you can't have the broth, I guess I get a snack." He chuckled pushing the bed table in front of her.

Renae grabbed the spoon laying on the table and watched it fill as the steam ran up in the air. Feeling the heat against her lips, she prepared herself for potential burns. Feeling the heat fall down her throat and into her stomach, relief filled her as her hunger grew instantaneous. She put the spoon down and lifted the bowl to her mouth and drank the entirety of the bowl.

"You can finally eat. How's it feel?" He asked grabbing the empty bowl from her and placing down the crackers.

"Amazing. Could I maybe have some more, I feel just so insatiable." She smirked wiping her mouth with the napkin.

"I'll have the nurse bring in a cup of broth and some water but I don't want you eating to much and making yourself sick again. I'll make sure they bring some solid food in the morning and you can try that and see how we do." He smiled at her. She could see how much he was beginning to enjoy her company.

"Thank you. If I can keep my food down in the morning, can I go home tomorrow?"

"First let's get through the night and see how you do in the morning. Deal?" He smiled at her.

"Deal." She returned a smile before he turned and walked out.

Renae grabbed her phone excited to let Jarrod know what was going on. Listening to the phone ring, her stomach sank at the realization that she wouldn't be able to have daily chats with Dr. Jones after she goes home.

"Hello?" Jarrods groggy voice answered shaking her from her thoughts.

"Dad? I just finished a bowl of soup and I get to try some solids in the morning."

"That's so great! So when do you think you'll be able to come home? Tomorrow hopefully the nurse told you?" His voice shook awake.

"I hope so. Dr. Jones said to just get through tonight keeping the liquids down and a little after eating solids tomorrow and we'll go from there."

"Adam said that. When? I don't want to leave you there alone."

"Dad, come on. Adam, you know my doctors first name? Besides, tomorrow is a school day. Go back to bed and come back once school is finished, I'm sure everything's getting pretty hectic without the headmaster not paying full attention to his school." She shook her head hearing his sigh.

"Forget it, it's a long story with your doctor. Alright fine, I'll come up after I get the big stuff out of the way tomorrow. Is that fair? I'd rather stay at the hospital with you." Renae could hear his conflict.

"Deal." She chuckled.

"Alright. I'm going to go back to bed. So should you. I'll head in early tomorrow and hopefully be there between ten and noon. Goodnight sweetheart. I love you."

"Night dad. I love you too." Renae hung up the phone and placed it back on the side table.

As she laid back against her pillow, she thought about how she was never able to talk to her dad before, how she was never allowed to talk about him. At any mention in front of her mother, she would lose all sorts of wits and saw no chance to speak of him with anyone at her old school.

After the nurse came back and brought her another cup of broth and some water she was left alone to her own devices. She turned off all the lights from her remote connected to her bed and sat back and sipped on the broth. Going back and forth between her thoughts and sipping on her drinks, she felt the cold air surround her. She looked out the window and watched the clouds slowly move by, occasionally covering the few stars that were bright enough to shine through her window.

She let her mind consume her 'I always dreamed about my dad coming back for me when he got out, maybe I wouldn't be as messed up if he had? I always thought if life was even worth living, is it worth living now? What do people think of when they're knocking on deaths door? I've never wanted to end my life before, I just wanted it to end so I wouldn't have to keep fighting, do I not want it to end now? Do I have the strength that I never used to have? This is a fight I never wanted to fight but am I finally giving something to it?' She closed her eyes hoping to escape her darkening thoughts. As the thoughts continued growing darker still, her consciousness slipped.